Quick Answer
Paying commissions to unregistered persons is prohibited. The decisive fact is the recipient's unregistered status. When a question asks whether a commission payment is permitted, focus on who would receive it and keep this prohibition separate from commission management and soft dollars.
This topic narrows a commission fact pattern to one central question: is the proposed recipient an unregistered person?
The Prohibited Payment
- Commission payment: A payment of commissions that is prohibited when made to an unregistered person.
- Unregistered person: The status that makes the prohibition relevant.
- Recipient status -> whether this specific prohibition applies.
| Question feature | Core issue |
|---|---|
| Payment of a commission to an unregistered person | The prohibited commission payment |
| Management of commissions or soft dollars | A separate commission-related topic |